Best sola power system for house?

gubdlog

What are the best sola power systems for a house?

If you want something long term that will be in profit after the least amount of time?

noncom_2

There are several threads on this board which will give you detailed answers to that question.

In brief: get the biggest (ie most powerful) system you can afford which will fit your roof, but beware going over 4kW as the FIT rate drops. It must be bought from and fitted by an MCS registered installer to qualify for the payments.

And do a LOT of research before buying. Forgive me, but the fact that you don't know "solar" has an "r" on the end suggests you haven't done a lot of reading on the subject yet. You will spend 10-20 thousand pounds on a system which will take at least 7 years, and probably nearer 15 to pay for itself.

Not something to be done lightly.

Try the "Get Paid To Generate Energy" thread, and the "Feed In Tariffs Are Coming" thread first. The "Free Solar Power System-Is It A Scam?" thread also has lots of useful discussion although it is specifically about a company which will provide the panels for you free of charge (but they take the FIT profit) if you meet very strict criteria and live in their area.

Cardew

You need:

1. A large South facing roof strong enough to have panels mounted and not shaded by trees.

2. Between £10,000 and £20,000

3. Patience as it will take around 15 years or so before you start making a profit.

4. To be wary of Solar salesmen and their 'promises'

5. As advised above - do some research.

daytona600_2

gubdlog wrote: »

What are the best sola power systems for a house?

If you want something long term that will be in profit after the least amount of time?

stick to the global big players with the best effciencies & warranties

pv modules must be mcs approved

best solarworld , sanyo etc 14-18%

or mid range sharp , mitsubishi , romag , yingli , suntech 12-13%

and modern high effciency inverters

sma , aurora , fronius with at the least 96% effciency

for high outputs & yields & quick ROI

ROI return on investment

installed cost / output in KWh per year / payback
cheap systems - low outputs
middle/expensive cost more but cheaper in the long run
large house eg 4kwp eg 18x220watt panels
do not pay more than 13/14k installed
for top quality german/european systems

noncom_2

Beware getting too hung up on panel efficiencies.

A 185W panel which is 14% efficient will produce 185W under specified test lighting conditions.

A 185W panel which is 12% efficient, under identical lighting conditions will produce........... 185W.

The only difference is that, because it is more efficient, the first panel will be smaller. Therefore if roof space or aesthetics are the limiting factor for the total power output of the system, the more efficient panels may allow you a greater capacity. Otherwise, you can get the same power generation from lower efficiency panels (rated the same peak Wattage) at the cost of using more roofspace. And probably for less money.

13-14k for a 4kW system seems optimistic to me at the moment. I didn't get any quotes for that. 15k is achievable.

Mankysteve

Now is good time to planing as there a huge of shortage of leading inverters brands. I would hold off buying for a few mounths and see if teh market has started to balance out. I have heard of people waiting 3 to 4 mounths for the inverter.

Stay away from solar heating as it appears from the research ive read(Actually research not the Daily tory articles) that they are not very cost effective in this country at least and have very small gains.